I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices and methods used to cover storage shelving, and more particularly to such coverings for wire-type shelving.
II. Background and Prior Art
Shelving used in storage compartments, bookcases, cupboards and medicine cabinets may be made from a variety of materials such as wood, glass, plastic, etc. One popular approach is to use a vinyl-coated wire-frame construction, which typically uses two or more members running the length of the shelf with a number of closely spaced cross-members. Such shelving systems are available from several manufacturers including ELFA™ and Closet Maid™. They are found in almost every new developer grade home and apartment in the United States. This structure, which can include a front grating, is generally aesthetically pleasing, and both lightweight and inexpensive, because it uses substantially less material than traditionally used to create the same amount of shelf space. A limitation of these shelves, however, is that any articles dimensioned smaller than the distance between any two adjacent cross-members will fall through the shelf. Similarly, any object not substantially larger than the distance between any two adjacent cross-members will tend to tilt to one side or another. These limitations tend to frustrate the purpose of shelving, that is, to permit the user to store items efficiently and neatly in a given storage area. Thus it would be desirable to provide a means for storing such smaller dimensioned items neatly stored on wire-frame shelves while preserving the advantages of such shelving.
Conventional flexible shelf coverings are commercially available that are made from paper, plastic, vinyl and other flexible materials. Because these materials are inherently flexible, they can be conveniently marketed in rolls. Such coverings as are designed for solid shelves typically do not provide adequate support on a wire-frame shelf, and can be easily damaged, requiring frequent replacement. Also, because they are very lightweight, conventional coverings are easily displaced from their intended position, and thus require some form of adhesive layer to bond them to the surface to which they are applied.
A somewhat thicker flexible shelf covering is disclosed in Putnam, U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,302, that provides a shelf cover for wire-frame shelves constructed from a relatively thick but flexible material. The material is intended to be sufficiently thick to avoid deformation when placed on a wire-frame shelf yet be sufficiently flexible to be rolled up for storage or sale. The material may also have a lateral notch along the underside of the cover so that a portion of the cover may be folded down to cover the frontal grating of the shelf. Because the material is inherently heavy, it tends to add significantly to the weight load borne by the underlying shelf without contributing any load supporting capacity other than for very small articles. The lower side of the material is preferably coated with an adhesive or otherwise treated to prevent slippage of the shelf-covering material on the wire frame. However the adhesive or otherwise treated surface tends, over time, to attract and retain dust and dirt thereby detracting from the generally aesthetically pleasing quality for which such wire shelving is initially selected.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a semi-rigid shelf covering formed generally of an extruded plastic such as virgin or reclaimed polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyphenylene oxide (PPO), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethyene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS), and blends thereof. The plastics can be unpigmented and even substantially transparent or translucent so as to retain the overall appearance of the underlying open-wire shelving. Alternatively, the plastics can be pigmented to exhibit desirable coordinating colors to the underlying open-wire shelving. Generally, the material forming the rigid shelf covering in accordance with the present invention is between about 1 and 5 mm in thickness.
One feature of the semi-rigid shelf covering of the present invention is its rigidity, which is sufficient to avoid deformation between the cross members of the shelf, thereby being able to support footed articles that may have sufficient mass to substantially deform the flexible shelf coverings of the prior art. The semi-rigid character of the shelf covering of the present invention distributes any load placed on the covering over a wide area of the shelf, yet is itself very light, thereby not detracting significantly from the load-supporting capability of the underlying open-wire shelving.
Another feature of the present invention is the extended portion which wraps around the front panel of the shelf and is secured to the wires themselves, thereby providing a shelf covering that will not be easily displaced from the underlying shelf. As will be described in further detail below, such securing means may be either tabs which slip behind the wires or retaining buttons which resiliently fit securely between adjacent wires.